MotoGP

VALUABLE POINTS AND IMPROVEMENTS FOR IANNONE IN ASSEN

Team Suzuki Press Office – June 25.

Andrea Iannone: 9th - +37.166
Alex Rins: 17th – 1 lap

A positive, encouraging race saw Team SUZUKI ECSTAR make progress at the GP of the Netherlands. Andrea Iannone ended his race in 9th position, while Alex Rins crossed the finish line in 17th, but their place at the finish line was not the whole story for the Team.

Andrea Iannone was fighting with renewed vigour at the beginning of the race, feeling confident aboard the GSX-RR and battling it out again with top riders. Then the wear on the tyres began affecting his feel with the bike, unfortunately preventing him from continuing his advance, but the feedback gave important information to the engineers.

Alex Rins came back after injury for what may be considered his second race of the season. His primary objective was to get the feeling back with the GSX-RR during the MotoGP racing weekend, and the outcome was very positive, as confirmed by the data. His performance in the first part of the race was solid and fast, with a good pace, and he was able deal with all kinds of conditions throughout the weekend, which is beneficial for his development in MotoGP.

Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager
We cannot call ourselves satisfied by finishing the race in 9th and 17th, but compared to the previous race, today leaves us feeling very positive. Andrea made every effort, according to the situation, and we can clearly see what our problem is. When we have grip we are very good, but when it drops down it begins to affect the performance of the bike too much. This was an excellent race for development. Thank you Andrea. Alex unfortunately couldn't get into points, but this race was an experience for him. Today presented a very difficult situation with the flag to flag and he made important progress.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“At the end of the day my evaluation for this race is that it’s been a positive one, especially at this moment for us. We were able to witness Andrea being very competitive during the early laps; he made a good start and gained positions from the very beginning. He then fought and attacked. Then, in the second half, he struggled more; with the drop in tyre pressure, his feeling with the GSX-RR became worse and the lap time increased. There are still many things we can improve but we see that we have a good base, and importantly that when he feels confident, he can be fast. We’re happy as well for the first half of the race with Alex Rins. In dry conditions his lap time wasn’t bad at all. Despite having a bad start he found a good pace and was able to recover some positions. He also tried to swap the bike when it started raining. It was a bet that didn´t play out well, but at least he gained a lot of experience in this, what I would call, his second race of the year. He was good on dry, wise on wet, always had a good pace… we can look forward to the next GP of Germany with positivity.”

Andrea Iannone
“The first part of the race was very positive, I jumped from the 16th place which was not easy, but I managed to recover and get into the top 10. I had a good rhythm, very close to the top. Then we had some problems with the grip. When tyres drop, the GSX-RR dramatically changes its behaviour, and I couldn’t be as effective as I wanted. We have to learn how to better manage these situations and keep closer to our competitors.”

Alex Rins
"I’m happy about this race. It’s positive that at the end of this weekend I was able to experience all of these different conditions: dry, then wet, and also the flag to flag. The start of the race was not a good one, and I struggled to find the pace, but then I managed to get more confident and I could overtake and recover. When it started to rain I took a risk in swapping the bike, because I was already feeling less than comfortable, and I thought it would rain more heavily. That didn’t happen, so the result was that I lost time, but this also means more experience for me. I’m sorry for the final lap. What happened was that I didn’t see the blue flags, and my position was a bother to Petrucci, so I apologise to him.”